Empennageless Flying Wing VTOL Aircraft Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional VTOL aircraft configurations face challenges in combining efficient vertical take-off and landing with long range and endurance while minimizing complexity and weight, particularly in tilt-wing designs that require oversized fuselages and complex tail systems, which hinder folding and stowage capabilities.
Innovation Solution
A flying wing VTOL aircraft design featuring an empennageless-fuselage with foldable wings, rigid rotor propellers that rotate about a single axis and are fully cyclically controllable, eliminating the need for vertical and horizontal tails, allowing for vertical take-off and transition to horizontal flight without additional rotation mechanisms, and enabling compact stowage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Use of energy by moving object
If conventional tilt-wing configuration is used to achieve VTOL capability with long range and endurance, then vertical lift efficiency is improved, but device complexity and empty weight increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and eliminates the complex tail system (vertical and horizontal stabilizers with elevators and rudders) from the conventional tilt-wing configuration. By removing these unnecessary components and relying solely on cyclically controllable propellers for attitude control, the design achieves VTOL capability with significantly reduced complexity while maintaining long range and endurance.
Solution Approach 2:
The cyclically controllable propellers serve multiple functions: they provide vertical lift during VTOL operations, enable transition to horizontal flight, and control aircraft attitude without requiring separate tail surfaces. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for dedicated vertical and horizontal tails, reducing overall device complexity.
2Adaptability or versatility
If conventional tilt-wing configuration with vertical and horizontal tails is used, then VTOL capability is achieved, but ease of operation for folding and stowage deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the vertical and horizontal tail surfaces that obstruct wing folding operations. Without these tail components, the wings can be folded completely flush against the fuselage, dramatically improving stowage capability for shipboard operations while retaining full VTOL functionality through the cyclically controllable propeller system.
3Device complexity
If empennageless configuration is adopted to reduce weight and complexity, then device complexity and weight are reduced, but control precision for cyclic control must be maintained
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates a flight computer that provides real-time feedback control to the cyclically controllable propellers. This closed-loop control system continuously monitors aircraft attitude and adjusts propeller pitch accordingly, ensuring precise control despite the elimination of traditional tail surfaces. The feedback mechanism compensates for any control imprecision that might result from the empennageless configuration.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This design reduces weight and complexity, enhances shipboard operations by allowing the aircraft to be folded and stowed in limited spaces, while maintaining long-range and endurance capabilities, and eliminates the need for ailerons and elevators, thus improving operational efficiency and reducing costs.
Implementation Method 1
a rigid rotor propeller disposed on each empennageless-nacelle. Each of the propellers is drivable to rotate about only a single rotational axis defined along a longitudinal axis of the corresponding empennageless-nacelle
Implementation Method 2
an empennageless-fuselage from which foldable wings extend outwardly
Data Source
AI summary
A flying wing vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft includes an empennageless-fuselage from which foldable wings extend outwardly, an empennageless-nacelle supported on each of the wings and a rigid rotor propeller disposed on each empennageless-nacelle, each of the propellers being drivable to rotate about only a single rotational axis defined along a longitudinal axis of the corresponding empennageless-nacelle and being fully cyclically controllable.